This year, Santa Baby brought me two presents for Christmas, just what I had asked for: the DVD sets, available from PBS online, of the two Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festivals.
I happened to catch most of both of them on TV (I'm sure they repeated many times), one last year in Chicago, one a few years ago in Texas. The DVDs are much expanded, four hours each.
I was amazed at how much I loved this music, much of it familiar to me, but not very. I’ve followed jazz rather closely over the years and would even go so far as to call myself an expert, though I wouldn’t make too much of a point about that. Rock and roll, on the other hand, I picked up mostly from tuning in to FM radio in the 60s and 70s without focusing too much on individual players or bands.
What interested me watching these programs is that I have a fairly low threshold for blues-inspired rock. Most of it has such a sameness that only the best of the best can keep my interest for much beyond a few songs. These live concerts kept me glued to the screen for hours. Jazz critic turned rock groupie Ralph J. Gleason said way back in the mid-60s that the musicianship of the best rockers rivaled that of the best jazz musicians. The free-love thing was probably what cinched the decision for him. It's about a lot more than just technique, though.
The Crossroads sets feature just about everybody who is still alive from those old days, and a good sampling of the best younger players out there now. A perfect example is the too-short set by Jeff Beck doing some stunning effects on guitar, all to good musical effect, and accompanied by a young woman on base who looks fifteen and soloed magnificently across some very complicated times and rhythms. Instant crush, so I googled “jeff beck’s base player” and discovered she’s 21-year-old Australian Tal Wilkenfeld. She’s toured England with Beck and Europe with Chick Corea, and I’m ordering her first album as lead, Transformation.
Other names from the Crossroads DVDs: B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Jimmie Vaughan, John Mayer, John McLaughlin, Jonny Lang, ZZ Top, Los Lobos, Steve Winwood, and of course, Eric Clapton. And many more.
If you’re about my age, (soon to turn 60), these songs are something of a soundtrack for our generation.
People who like this sort of thing are going to like this very much.
